The objective of this program is to provide empirically based theoretical insight and consequent policy recommendations on arms control. Two principal questions are addressed:

• What are the wider ramifications of the global arms trade and increasing investments of states in military capacities?
• How can weapons exports, alongside national and civilian stockpiles, be subjected to effective regimes of regulation?

BICC maintains a comprehensive database, which assesses how individual states correspond to the various criteria of the European Union’s Code of Conduct on Arms Exports. BICC has also developed the Global Militarization Index (GMI), which documents militarization-trends in many countries of the world and thereby seeks to facilitate public debates on the issue. In addition, it participates in the writing of the annual GKKE Ruestungsexportbericht, a critical review of German arms exports, which is published by the Joint Conference Church and Development (GKKE). 

As regards small arms and light weapons (SALW) control, BICC has recently put a particular focus on questions relating to national stockpile management, such as: how are national SALW stockpiles maintained, and what mechanisms exist to limit leakages from legal to illegal stockpiles? How can states be encouraged to put in place mechanisms (including legislation, technical provisions, and social structures) to safeguard their national stockpiles?